2013 Student Travel Program Award Recipients

OERA has awarded travel funds to support senior undergrad and graduate student research in projects related to tidal marine energy and offshore petroleum/geoscience research.

The funds are in support of senior undergrad or graduate student research travel to international research facilities or laboratories which will contribution to the advancement of the offshore energy sector in Nova Scotia.

Stephen Dempsey, Executive Director of OERA, speaks to the importance of local and international collaboration in the pursuit of the development of energy efficiencies and sustainability.

“OERA’s mission is to lead energy research that enables the sustainable development of Nova Scotia energy resources through strategic partnerships with academia, government and industry. We have a great resource in our students who are the next stewards of our energy resources. It is our responsibility to ensure that they get the support they need to broaden local knowledge and collaborate with experts locally and internationally to look at lessons learned elsewhere and new ideas to get us where we need to be in energy development.”

Justine McMillan, a PhD student in Oceanography at Dalhousie University, and award recipient was enthusiastic about the funding program. “The opportunity to spend four months at the University of Edinburgh is invaluable for my research career. In addition to working with tidal energy experts, I will be analyzing cutting-edge data of flow past a tidal turbine. This experience is unattainable in Nova Scotia because no turbines are currently installed. It is my hope that I can bring the skills and lessons learned back to Nova Scotia, so that when a turbine is eventually installed, I will be fully qualified to participate in both the turbine instrumentation and the data analysis.”

The January 2013 Student Travel Program awards have been granted to the following students:

• Janice Allen, Dalhousie University – travel to University of Helsinki, Finland
• Alex Hurley, Dalhousie University – travel to University of West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago
• Sebastian Manchester, Dalhousie University – travel to University of Edinburgh, Scotland
• Justine McMillian, Dalhousie University – travel to University of Edinburgh, Scotland
• Darragh O’Connor, Dalhousie University – travel to University of West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago
• Nick Osbourne, Dalhousie University – travel to University of Tasmania, Australia

The September 2013 Student Travel Program awards have been granted to the following students:

• Matthew Baker, Acadia University – travel to University of Maine, USA
• Sonja Bhatia, Dalhousie University / St. Francis Xavier University – travel to University of Victoria, Canada
• Stephanie Maillet, Dalhousie University – travel to Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
• Jing Tao, Dalhousie University – travel to University of Maine, USA

For more information on how to apply for the upcoming 2014 round of submissions, please click here.